Yet the private Islamophobia of the media was no aberration at all in this respect, but rather an extension of the structural Islamophobia shaped and enforced by the state, which likewise built its suspicion and surveillance of Muslim Americans, like Ahmed in Minneapolis, on the slimmest pieces of evidence, overwhelmingly focusing on the religious identity and lifestyle of the actor. In the words of my younger brother Mohammed, "The more you pray, the more you're prey."

XREF: Connects to broader literature on structural racism and state surveillance of minority communities.

Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Unde…, loc. 375